H.R. 4924, the “Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2016,” is the latest attempt to erode the constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade more than 40 years ago. Among other things, the bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion if she or he knows that the procedure is being done because of the race or sex of the fetus or the race of one of the parents, regardle... Read more »
Today’s hearing gives us an opportunity to study how the International Trade Commission handles patent disputes and whether it sufficiently protects American innovation. In particular, we should focus on whether the Commission produces fair results to litigants and, most importantly, whether these results are beneficial to the American consumer. Congress established the Commission as an independe... Read more »
In 2014, in a unanimous ruling delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court concluded that the police may not search a cellphone without first demonstrating probable cause. Citing an obvious Fourth Amendment interest in the vast amount of data we store on—and access from—our personal devices, the Court wrote: “The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in... Read more »
I want to begin by thanking you, Chairman Goodlatte, and your staff, for working with us to develop the amendment before us now. I also want to thank the members of the Digital Due Process Coalition, many of whom are represented here today, for their tireless dedication to the work of modernizing federal statute for the Internet age. Over the last few weeks, Mr. Chairman, as we have worked out ou... Read more »
The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 28-0 the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) to protect Americans’ privacy and public safety in the digital age. Nearly 30 years ago, Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to provide a fair balance between the privacy expectations of American citizens and the legitimate needs of law enforcement agencies. The law sets fo... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law (RRCAL) Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) introduced H.R. 4899, the Restoring Statutory Rights Act of 2016, legislation to ensure that state, federal, and constitutional rights of all Americans are enforceable. “Forced arbitration ... Read more »
Today, senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) issued a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice to review the impact of recently implanted voting restrictions across the ... Read more »
The House Judiciary Committee has announced its schedule for the week of April 11-15, 2016. Wednesday, April 13 10:30 a.m. Full Committee Markup 2141 Rayburn House Office Building S. 125, the “Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2015” (Sen. Leahy, D-VT) H.R. 699, the “Email Privacy Act” (Rep. Yoder, R-Kan.) THURSDAY, APRIL 14 10:00 a.m. Subcommittee on Courts, Intelle... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN) released the following joint statement applauding the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Evenwel v. Abbott to reaffirm the use of total-population data by states to draw state legislative election districts, clarifying the meaning of... Read more »
Today, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following joint statement after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 61 individuals: “We applaud the commutations announced today and commend the President’s continued commitment to using his constitutional authority to... Read more »
